03/15/2012

3 Outdoor Adventure Records Broken this Week

The world of outdoor sports blew up this past week, showing us once more why pushing ourselves to the limits can let us experience the world in a way that few other people get to. Good thing the sponsors are there with full camera crews to help out. Watch the videos below!

1. Tao Berman surfs the biggest wave in a kayak.

"I've always admired what big wave surfers can do," says Red-Bull-sponsored white water kayaker Tao Berman in his video, "And that's pretty much how it began." Referring to his three-year quest to kayak big waves, Tao, who already holds the world record for biggest waterfall kayak drop, hit it on March 11, at Oregon's Nellscott Reef. Deciding to retire once he achieved this goal, he was towed into and rode a 40-foot wave with his specially-designed kayak, thus ending his paddling career with a bomb.

2. Polish team completes winter summit of Gasherbrum I (and now re-ascends on a rescue mission).

On March 9, Polish alpinists Adam Bielecki and Janusz Golab summited the world's 11th highest peak, Gasherbrum I in Pakistan. Bielecki and Golab's summit, which they completed without supplemental oxygen, made the 8,068-meter Gasherbrum I, a.k.a Hidden Peak, the second of Pakistan's 8,000-meter mountains climbed in the winter. Not a bad feat considering they spent 49 days without supplemental oxygen in a place where temperatures dropped to -31 degrees F at night. (The first of the peaks, the 8,035-meter Gasherbrum II, was summited by international expeditioners Simone Moro, Cory Richards, and Denis Urubko in 2011.)

Days after the Polish duo's summit on the west and northwest routes, however, they returned as part of a rescue mission to find a still-missing international team that began climbing the south side of the peak, but haven't been found due to poor helicopter conditions.

3. U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn wins 4th World Cup title.

On March 9, downhill skier Lindsey Vonn won her fourth Alpine Ski World Cup in Are, Sweden, surpassing the U.S. record held by renowned skier Phil Mahre. As the first American woman to win consecutive World Cup Championships, Vonn's fourth title also makes her the most decorated female U.S. skier in history. She, however, has more records to break in the upcoming week.

Currently competing in Austria's World Cup events, as of today, Vonn has two races left to earn 53 points, to surpass the world record of 2,000 World Cup points in a single season, currently held by Austrian skier Hermann Maier.

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